The cost of Christmas for Scots in a lifetime

The average Scot will spend an eye-watering �51,943 on Christmas over their adult life.

Published:12:00Sunday 18 December 2016

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The average Scott will spend an eye-watering £51,943 on Christmas over the course of their adult life, according to a new survey.

Presents, food, booze and new clothes for the family to wear each year means the typical adult’s yearly bill will come in at £818.

The biggest expenditure each year is family gifts (£152), followed by alcohol (£40) and nights out with colleagues and friends (£36), the poll by cashback and rewards website Quidco found.

But with the average family spending £14.20 each year on fancy wrapping paper and as much as £10.90 on the must-have advent calendars, the bill soon creeps up.

Fuel costs to see family dotted around the country and taxi and public transport fares come in at £38.50 over the festive season – or £2,445 over the course of an adult life.

And £47 will get spent on a tree and new decorations each year - £2,984 over a lifetime.

The study also discovered that one in seven (14 percent) Scots claim to go way over budget at Christmas.

But on average, the typical adult spends £120.40 more than their original budget.

Worryingly, the research showed 39 percent of all adults in Scotland have ended up in debt over their lavish spending at Christmas time.

Abbie Dickinson, spokesperson for Quidco, said: “It’s important to have a budget and a plan at Christmas time. The top tip we should all keep in mind is making sure that we’re getting good value for money by looking out for ways to save when Christmas shopping.

“There are ways to save on everything from presents to food and drink, and thinking ahead will help us have an amazing festive period but avoid the January money blues.”

Spending over fifty thousand pounds on Christmas presents sounds like a staggering amount, but it’s easy to see how everything mounts up.

A very sensible 47 percent of the adults surveyed said they love Christmas and spend what they can afford but over one in ten (11 percent) claim to push the boat out whatever the financial consequences.

More than a third of those polled (38 percent) admitted they will end up spending more this year than they did last year.

Most people (43 percent) said they will use their savings to pay for this Christmas, but a very sensible 32 percent have been putting money aside throughout the year.

Over a quarter (27 percent) said they will use their salaries from their November and December pay cheques to fund Christmas but one in five (20 percent) will rely on a credit card to pay for everything.

Almost a third (29 percent) said getting through January financially will be tricky – with one in ten (11 percent) saying it will be a nightmare to make ends meet in the New Year.

Despite the findings, almost a third (32 percent) don’t ever regret the cash they have splashed on festivities. Though most people declared that by December 27th they will have lost all their festive buzz.

Quidco’s Abbie added: “January can be made harder by excessive festive spending, but when you can get a return on that spending, the January blow can be softened significantly.”